🇬🇧United Kingdom · 80s
The Great Storm and Black Monday
Michael Fish said there'd be no hurricane. There was. Then the stock market crashed.
5 milestones of 1987
The worst storm in 300 years hit southern England overnight. 15 million trees were uprooted. 18 people died. Michael Fish had said: 'A woman rang to say there's a hurricane coming. Don't worry, there isn't.'
Natural disaster — honour those who died
Three days after the storm, global stock markets crashed. The FTSE 100 fell 26% in two days. The Big Bang deregulation of 1986 suddenly looked reckless. The City's euphoria evaporated.
A fire on an escalator at King's Cross Underground station killed 31 people. A discarded match ignited grease beneath the wooden escalator. Smoking was banned on the Tube. Wooden escalators were replaced.
Public transport disaster — honour the victims
Thatcher became the first PM in 160 years to win three consecutive elections. Her 102-seat majority confirmed the Thatcher revolution. Kinnock's Labour was modernizing but couldn't win.
The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized outside Zeebrugge harbour with its bow doors open. 193 people drowned. The crew had sailed with the doors open. Corporate negligence was exposed.
Maritime disaster — honour the victims, acknowledge negligence
70% local · 30% international
The Last Emperor
Bernardo Bertolucci — 9 Oscars. Epic sweep. Peter O'Toole as Reginald Johnston.
The Living Daylights
John Glen — Timothy Dalton's first Bond. Serious and stylish.
Cry Freedom
Richard Attenborough — Denzel Washington as Steve Biko. Anti-apartheid cinema.
Withnail and I
Bruce Robinson — Richard E. Grant. 'We've gone on holiday by mistake.' Cult classic.
Fatal Attraction
Adrian Lyne — Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. The bunny boiler phenomenon.
EastEnders
1987 — Den and Angie divorce saga gripped the nation.
Casualty
1986-present — BBC hospital drama in its second year. Saturday night institution.
Porterhouse Blue
1987 — David Jason and Ian Richardson. Cambridge satire. Channel 4 gem.
Fortunes of War
1987 — Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in wartime Romania.
Red Dwarf
1988 prep — Sci-fi sitcom in development at BBC — would launch 1988.
Currency: GBP
Inflation: 4.1%
The Lawson boom was building. House prices surging. The City was recovering from Black Monday. Yuppie culture in full flow.
Inflation-adjusted values
Microsoft Windows 2.0
PCs becoming more user-friendly — but still primitive.
DAT tapes
Digital Audio Tape launched — CD quality recording.
Amiga and Atari ST
16-bit home computers bringing better graphics and sound.
Mobile phones
Car phones and bricks becoming status symbols in the City.
Prozac
The antidepressant launched in the US — would reach UK soon.
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